play at 1rst base

Question
positioning of players at 1rst age level 10u 3 coaches on the team 3 seperate phylosophies, should the player play even with the bag infront or behind, also methods for covering the bag, should he or should he not turn back to the ball when going to the bag to cover for a throw from the infield, and need some general information for teaching the position correctly, no lead offs allowed yet! Thank you for your time
Robert Dietrich

Answer
Hi Robert,

As you've already noticed, you will get different opinions on this one. In reality, any of the methods would probably work, but to me it's best to consider the scenario. There are lots of variables involved when it comes to positioning. Is there a left handed hitter at the plate, or right handed? Is the batter a threat to bunt? Is the base runner a stealing threat, or not? Is there also a runner on 2nd or 3rd? The answers to these various questions (and probably more that I didn't think of offhand) should play a big part in positioning your fielders, including 1st base.

For that age level where no lead-offs are allowed, it certainly simplifies things. But it's also important to teach proper technique now that they can use in the higher levels. As a starting point, my personal opinion is that when holding a runner on 1st, the player should position himself in front of the bag. It's a little hard to describe in writing, but the goal here would be so that the throw over from the pitcher can go directly to the correct side of the base, and the fielder is in the best position to make the tag (this is why playing 1st base is better suited for left handers). Under normal circumstances, being behind the bag does not accomplish that as well, and you can easily get blocked out by the runner.

As for turning your back when going to the bag, there's nothing really wrong with that so long as the player turns around in time to get a read on the direction of the throw (in case adjustments need to be made).

There's WAY more to the art of playing 1st base, but this will get you started on positioning. One other thing -- be sure to teach the kids NOT to stretch for the throw until they can determine whether it's offline or not. For instance, if the 1st baseman stretches towards the infielder, and then the throw is off to the right or left, the first baseman won't be in a position to maximize their range to catch and still be on the bag. The stretch should occur towards the ball, and will often times not be in the direction of the fielder.

Hope this makes sense -- very hard to describe without pictures!

Mike Fortunato